Pam Myhra is running for state auditor. This photo is from her run for Congress in 2016. Tim Pugmire | MPR News

An incumbent-free race for Minnesota state auditor has gained its first Republican candidate.

Former state Rep. Pam Myhra has registered a campaign committee and changed her Twitter handle to reflect a bid for the constitutional office that has been held by people who would go on to be governor. The current auditor, DFLer Rebecca Otto, is seeking the governor’s office this year.

Myhra served two terms in the state House, representing the Burnsville area, before running as Marty Seifert’s lieutenant governor pick in 2014. Myhra was a candidate for Congress in the 2nd District in 2016 but dropped out early that year.

Myhra didn’t immediately return a phone message or an email about her campaign.

The auditor’s office has been a stepping stone of sorts. Gov. Mark Dayton and former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson both held the job earlier in their careers.

There are three Democrats in the running for that party’s nomination. They are: Julie Blaha, Jack Dickinson and Jon Tollefson.